22 December 2016

So Odebrecht is in the news again (here and here). For those who don't know, Odebrecht was, till not long ago, one of Brazil's "success" stories: a construction company with operations spanning the globe. It was an exhibit of South America's "entrepreneurship" until Brazilian Justice Sergio Moro decided to take a closer look into the company's activities in the context of Petrobras' massive corruption scandal.

The core of the issue is, of course, bribe payments to obtain procurement contracts. Odebrecht was at it, as much as any other company, big or small, from LatAm or otherwise, getting deals from governments in the region. That is just how business is done in that part of the world. Whenever procurement contracts aren't assigned directly, using whatever legal emergency provision that allows it, bidding processes tend to be rigged before start: a method typically favoured would be that all companies participating in a given open bid would be under ultimate control of same people.

Brazil's economy is many times the size of Venezuela's. Odebrecht is one of Brazil's largest and most "successful" corporations. 38% of Odebrecht foreign work is meant to originate in Venezuela, where amount of procurement granted since chavismo took over is believed to be over $20 billion. Odebrecht has admitted to a scheme whereby, according to the Justice Department, it "paid approximately $788 million in bribes to government officials, their representatives and political parties in a number of countries in order to win business in those countries." Braskem, a petrochemical company controlled by Odebrecht, also pleaded guilty in the international bribe payment scheme.

And yet, we are meant to believe that of the $788 million Odebrecht only paid $98 million in bribes in Venezuela, to obtain over $20 billion worth of public contracts. This doesn't add up. Regardless of how involved Lula and Dilma Rousseff were in securing contracts directly from Hugo Chavez as a quid pro quo for donations made by Odebrecht to their Workers' Party (PT), $98 million is not even 0.5% of total value. Hardly believable.

Justice Department's authorities, as commendable as their international fight against corruption is, used some lofty language referring to the case:

“Odebrecht and Braskem used a hidden but fully functioning Odebrecht business unit—a ‘Department of Bribery,’ so to speak—that systematically paid hundreds of millions of dollars to corrupt government officials in countries on three continents,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Suh. “Such brazen wrongdoing calls for a strong response from law enforcement, and through a strong effort with our colleagues in Brazil and Switzerland, we have seen just that. I hope that today’s action will serve as a model for future efforts.”

“These resolutions are the result of an extraordinary multinational effort to identify, investigate and prosecute a highly complex and long-lasting corruption scheme that resulted in the payment by the defendant companies of close to a billion dollars in bribes to officials at all levels of government in many countries,” said U.S. Attorney Capers. “In an attempt to conceal their crimes, the defendants used the global financial system – including the banking system in the United States – to disguise the source and disbursement of the bribe payments by passing funds through a series of shell companies. The message sent by this prosecution is that the United States, working with its law enforcement partners abroad, will not hesitate to hold responsible those corporations and individuals who seek to enrich themselves through the corruption of the legitimate functions of government, no matter how sophisticated the scheme.”

“This case illustrates the importance of our partnerships and the dedicated personnel who work to bring to justice those who are motivated by greed and act in their own best interest,” said Assistant Director Richardson. “The FBI will not stand by idly while corrupt individuals threaten a fair and competitive economic system or fuel criminal enterprises. Our commitment to work alongside our foreign partners to root out corruption across the globe is unwavering and we thank our Brazilian and Swiss partners for their tireless work in this effort.”

“No matter what the reason, when foreign officials receive bribes, they threaten our national security and the international free market system in which we trade,” said Assistant Director in Charge Sweeney. “Just because they’re out of our sight, doesn’t mean they’re beyond our reach. The FBI will use all available resources to put an end to this type of corrupt behavior.”

The Odebrecht case, as its originator the Petrobras corruption scandal, are small play in the greatest Latin American corruption scheme of all: Venezuela and PDVSA. It is no secret that, again, albeit small, the largest amount of bribes paid by Odebrecht took place in Venezuela. The biggest criminal cartel south of the Rio Grande these days is called chavismo, known officially as the Government of Venezuela. Want to deal a significant blow to those who "threaten our national security and the international free market system"? Act on what you have on Venezuela, PDVSA and its U.S. based enablers. Going down that rabbit hole will undoubtedly reveal the most brazen and largest ever corruption scheme this side of Moscow.

11 November 2016

Remember this? It wasn't that long ago, was it? Lessons haven't been learned. If anything, the will of the people has been redefined, by almost all media, in most countries, as a retrograde manifestation that ought to be repudiated at every available opportunity.

But who are the creators of the new dogma? Who are the new oracles, seers, and high priests of post modern morality? Do their knowledge spring from sacred scriptures? From where do these prophets derive their wisdom? What makes their capacity to interpret reality so unique, that only their anointed peers can see it?

We live in an era of fanaticism, of nihilistic delusion. The motto "après moi le déluge" has lost its reflexive connotation, and has morphed into a collective utopia that inhabits the minds and thoughts of educated elites up and down this world. The shared creed is not to be questioned, and crucially not challenged. Democracy no longer fits the purpose. Consensus? Only to pledge absolute loyalty to the "new" normal. Any deviation from the grand diktats of the PC establishment is to be derided, mocked, ridiculed, and exposed as epitomes of racism, misogyny, ignorance, insularity and brutality across all social, political, religious, academic and media channels under their control. A singular unity and conformity characterises the narrative of this collectivity, as in the most fanatic of sects.

Interpretations and discourse aren't derived from observation. Consultation does not inform argumentation. Fanatics feed their worldview solely and exclusively from other cabal members. No outside perspective is allowed to pollute considerations. The "new" reality is a construct, wherein poverty, unemployment, and disease do not exist. Worse still, aspirations are forbidden. People that do not know what it is to go hungry, to lose a home, to be chronically unemployed; people that can not see the pitfalls of public education and its consequences, and are incapable of recognising, much less of empathising, with the other are meant to be beacons of morality that should be followed blindly. Only full allegiance will do.

It is concerning that such an infantile dystopia is shared among many of the Western world's "experts", intellectuals and "cool" politicos, for whom the poor are repugnant, a "basket of deplorables." And it is pervasive, almost omnipresent, Gramscian. Those who vote, and do so with their pockets, stomachs, or feet, deserve nothing but ostracism. Electoral results contrary to those expected by interest-in-possession life tenants, Claret-sipping Guardianistas, and assorted members of the status quo can only bring about cataclysmic chaos, ungovernability: the end of times.

Hope can only be had for aligned candidates. Revolution? Only against perceived enemies (imperialism, capitalism, etc.) Only the right can be corrupt, and abuse power. Only right-wingers can be racist, and misogynistic. The Big Dog can't do wrong, victims of his predatory sexual abuses are nothing but gold diggers. It is perfectly fine, and beyond reproach, to illegally conduct affairs of State from the kitchen, breach duty of care, and abuse position in get-rich-quick schemes sanctioned by "non for profit" organisations.

Donald Trump is a piece of work, no doubt. And perhaps America is the only place, well Italy comes to mind, where such a flawed character could reach the highest office. But the Clintons? I mean, seriously? Trump is certainly a member of that establishment that American voters seem so keen on getting rid of. He is as amoral, crooked, and every bit as selfish and megalomaniac as the other two. But instead of making himself unelectable by insulting the electorate, he employed that tried and tested method of telling people what they wanted to hear, something true believers are simply unwilling to even contemplate. American institutions will now have to deal with the resulting mess, checks and balances will guarantee observance to rule of law. Trump is just one clown, an American Hugo Chavez, bent on profiting from people's desperation, though the U.S. is not Venezuela, and soon enough the realities of governing the world's superpower will quickly chuck away all the deranged nonsense spewed during the campaign.

The others, the 1%, are a sect of deluded, egotistic and dangerous fanatics who live in denial. They will never walk a year in the shoes of a poor person to try to understand why they keep being trumped at the polls. Ultimately, they'll take care of Trump too, either through absorption or ejection, alas the gap with those of us who don't live in their rarefied ecosystem can only grow wider. Brexit brought about Theresa May... An unelected Prime Minister without a mandate. It is doubtful that she'll better the lot of this country's people. Trump does have a mandate, although no one should believe that he'll have an easy ride with GOP-controlled Congress and Senate. In the meantime, Americans and the British continue to lack true representation in politics, an issue that affects populations in many countries around the world. Fanatics won't shine much light on what causes the new normal: upset (for them) at the polls.

26 June 2016

The world at large is incensed. Livid. F%&£ pissed off. Imagine the Brits. The bloody Brits, or Little Englanders as they are now commonly known. They have dared to vote against the grain, against integration, against Christine Lagarde, Barack Obama AND The Guardian! The nerve... Aaaaaarrrrgggghhhh!!!! No joda! El coño de su puta madre con los ingleses!

Brexit's what you get when you let democracy stand in the way of the grand diktats, the Master Plan, of the PC, progressive, metropolitan, über educated brigade. "How come my vote and that of a chronically unemployed person carries the same weight?" I heard a distinguished-looking Remainer express in utmost indignation in a pub in chic Primrose Hill. Racism works only when Little Englanders decide to exercise their inalienable right to self determination, you see? The Guardianistas know better than anyone else, you dear reader included, what's in everyone else's best interest.

If an alien had landed from Mars on Friday, it could be forgiven for thinking that life in the British Isles started in 1973. For it was only after acceding to the European Economic Community that the United Kingdom's history started. Forget its rich and illustrious history. Forget the days of Empire and Magna Carta. Forget British idiosyncrasy and their sheer irreverence. Forget also their sense of fairness. Forget Britain's cultural, scientific, political, social, financial, military, academic and democratic additions to human knowledge. None existed. Ever. Eccentricity never took root in these lands. Europeans aren't, all of them, crying Heil Führer every morning because of the resolve, alliances, ingenuity and grit of Brits and Americans. No. They are the free bunch they are today thanks to that Luxembourger architect of one of the world's largest tax avoidance schemes and his sidekicks.

The experts... Where should I start with them? For almost 17 years I have been hearing "the experts" say that Hugo Chavez is the best thing to have happened in Venezuela. The same "experts" have been diligently affirming that Fidel Castro is the best thing to have happened to Cuba, after all he created one of the "world's best health system". Their knowledge reaches every corner of the world. From China to America (Yanks also riled them when they voted -twice- for W). They sit in Islington, or somewhere in the City, yet they know better than any Arab, Latino, African, Indian or a New Yorker what's in their best interest. Racism does not get any more omniscient than this.

I never thought I would see the day, to be honest. Being a radical anti chavista earned me the enmity of "the experts" a long time ago. I thought it was just something reserved to little indians and brown people born far away, like in Venezuela for instance. But no. Oh no. Born and bred Brits get exactly the same treatment by sophisticated types. Their voices don't count. That Brexit result? Invalid. Not binding. Irrelevant. Useless. "Let's have it again" they say. "A second referendum is needed". Venezuela is the laughinstock of the Americas because its government is contesting electoral results reached by the people, by the majority. Well, who would have guessed that the whole world's establishment is behaving pretty much like Nicolas Maduro, with respect to the choice voted by the majority of the British people?

Jamie Dimon and George Osborne (Reuters).

David Cameron is to go (a Brexit bonus). To be frank, he can't soon enough. Hopefully he'll take that odious and wretched Chancellor with him. I am sure Jamie Dimon will offer them a juicy package. There's also Lagarde, or a cosy half a million quid role in some multilateral or quango where they can continue applying their "expertise" on a part-time consultancy basis. Alas the political situation isn't getting any better. There's fratricide going on at the nasty people's party, while Labour is led by someone infatuated with Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro.

Brexit will not only allow this country to get free from any constraint imposed by the likes of Juncker, Merkel, Rajoy, Iglesias, etc. It will also, hopefully, flush away some of its indigenous political turds.

The British people, however, I am willing to bet the farm on them. I am willing to see what they come up with, how their "keep calm and carry on" nonsensical approach moves this country away from the Armageddon forecasted by "the experts". Self interest of French, German, Polish, etc. impresarios, workers and politicos will prevail, and sooner than you can say Brexit they'll be queueing to carry on and keep their favourable trade balance with the UK (in deficit in most EU-countries cases).

The world didn't end. I can still see the gliterrati happily drinking in London's fashionable areas. City bankers will find new ways. Dodgy money will keep flowing, probably more so after Brexit. George Soros likely made another pile shorting the Sterling... But this country, in my opinion, gave a lesson, another rather, to the world: Brits do things in their own unique way; Brits do not take orders; elegant irreverence is in their nature; no one should have the temerity to think that it knows better than an Englishman what's in his best interest. It may work with Russians, Chinese, Cubans or Venezuelans. With Greeks even. It worked with the Turks, with a little €6 billion bribe. Not with the Brits, who at the first opportunity gave two fingers to "the experts", to their racism, scaremongering and hatred.

The Brexit outcome was evident, to this foreigner at least. But then again, what do I know right? I am the guy who spent the last 17 years opposing that most wonderful revolutionary called Hugo Chavez, according to "the experts" the best thing to have happened in Latin America since Che Guevara...

4 January 2016

Some folks are calling it a triumph of politics. Others are singing the praises of a politico whose greatest achievement, to date, is to have outmaneuvered a bunch of green, hapless politicians that are totally unaccountable to their constituents. And yet others are just fawning. In Venezuela's absolutely destitute and desperate society, even people who should know better are happily spreading the HenryPonlesunParao hashtag...

...delinquent bloggers, wanted by local and international justice for drug trafficking, assault, sexual abuse and injuries...

Though Ramos Allup did not mention it explicitly, every one knew he was referring to me. Why would Ramos Allup write that I was allegedly wanted for drug trafficking, etc.? What was the basis, where was the evidence?

Ramos Allup had been fed highly defamatory, and totally spurious, claims about me. The source of those claims, which Ramos Allup presumably had no reason to question, was his own family. For it has to be said and repeated, loud and clear, that Henry Ramos Allup, newly elected president of Venezuela's Congress, is the brother in law of Francisco D'Agostino, one of the Associates at Derwick. Henry Ramos Allup is married to Diana D'Agostino, Francisco's sister. The patriarch of the D'Agostino family is Franco: one of the most corrupt contractors of the period now known in Venezuela as "la cuarta republica", i.e. the 40 years that preceded Hugo Chavez's election.

In his utter chutzpah, Ramos Allup even claimed that he knows what has gone on with media acquisitions in Venezuela (first exposed here, and here), going as far as saying that those selling may have problems explaining source of funds when trying to get them out of Venezuela. He even mentions a Portuguese bank where Derwick has stashed some of its ill gotten money. Surely, he must have issued similar warnings over the years to his brother in law and father in law, right?

Is this the kind of politico that will get the new Congress to put a stop to rampant corruption in Venezuela? I shall wear as a badge of honour that both outgoing Chair of Congress #narcodiosdado and incoming Chair #DerwickRamosAllup have blocked me on Twitter, for in my view corruption has no political colour, it's like human rights and it admits only one stance: for or against.

Alek Boyd created Vcrisis.com and started blogging about Venezuela in Oct. 2002. Since, he has worked as an independent researcher, reporter, lobbyist, civil and political rights activist, and has experience in strategic and media consulting throughout Latin America. In 2006, Alek became the first blogger ever to shadow a presidential candidate in Venezuela. In 2009 he gained a MA (merits) in Spanish American Studies (King's College London). Alek can be contracted to do due diligence on individuals and companies in Venezuela and LatAm. Contact: @alekboyd.

Most of the investigations I've published since 2002 are related to individuals and companies with suspect connections to Hugo Chavez's regime, whose actions would've gone unnoticed otherwise. Exposing the $2-trillion dictator is no easy task, and so donations are always welcome.